Oppo Reno 6 Pro

The Reno 6 Pro takes on the task of crowning Oppo's Reno 2021 range, designed to be more affordable than the Find X3 series. A smartphone with an air of déjà vu, which does not detract from its effectiveness.

 

Presentation

A little over three years after its launch in France, Oppo is now the fourth largest seller of smartphones in the country. The brand is no longer satisfied with selling high-end devices in the Find series, and is now moving into a more affordable segment with the Reno.

The Reno 6 family, whose eponymous representative we tested, includes a model called Reno 6 Pro, whose look, price and features (6.55-inch Amoled panel with curved edges, 4,500 mAh battery, 65 W fast charging, quadruple photo module ...) remind a certain Find X3 Neo. It is for its part priced at $799. On the edge of the premium segment, the Reno 6 Pro poses as an alternative to its elder, of course, but also to products such as the OnePlus 9 or the Mi 11 5G 256GB.

 

Ergonomics and design

If you're familiar with Oppo's ecosystem, the similarity between the Reno 6 Pro and the Find X3 Neo, tested in our columns a few months ago, won't escape you. And for good reason: whether it's its 6.55-inch screen diagonal (in Full HD+ and Amoled), its slightly rough-looking glass back - resistant to the ever-present fingerprints - or its curved back and front, the smartphone is its almost perfect twin. The top and bottom slices are just slightly rounded, not flat like on its predecessor.

We liked the grip of the Reno 6 Pro just as much as the Find X3 Neo, thanks to its thinness and the quality of its finish, or the integration of a fingerprint reader under its screen; but we also regretted the same absences: its memory is not expandable via a microSD card, it is not IPxx certified (waterproofing) and it lacks a wireless charging system as well as a mini-jack plug. For the rest, go to the Find X3 Neo test.

 

Screen

Here again, the characteristics that differentiate the Reno 6 Pro from the Find X3 Neo are tenuous. Oppo's latest model has a 6.55-inch Amoled panel that displays 2400 x 1080 pixels, i.e. a resolution of 402 dpi. The display is appreciable, but it is clear that the manufacturer has not taken any risks. The refresh rate of this panel remains fixed at 90 Hz (you can choose to reduce this rate to 60 Hz if necessary).

Its performance is more or less comparable to that of its elder brother. The Reno 6 Pro's screen, in vivid mode activated by default, displays a correct delta E of 3, and a color temperature of 7403 K, in line with its elder brother. It deviates from this when you switch to soft mode, which brings down its delta E to 1.5 (2.1 for the Find X3 Neo), with a color temperature of 7381 K, which is a bit cold. However, you can opt for a warmer shade by playing with the gauge proposed by Oppo.

This convincing screen has an infinite contrast ratio, thanks to Oled, and a very good maximum brightness of 698 cd/m², which gives it good readability. A good point to compensate for a slightly high reflectance (50.4%). As for the rest, comfort is the order of the day thanks to a 64 ms touch delay, zero afterglow and a minimum brightness of 2.2 cd/m², which is appreciated when you use your smartphone in the dark.

 

 

Performance

The Find X3 Neo was equipped with a Snapdragon 865G chip, which the Reno 6 Pro replaces with a Snapdragon 870, spotted notably within Xiaomi's Pad 5 tablet. This eight-core SoC close to that of its older sibling features a Kryo 585 core at 3.2 GHz, three at 2.42 GHz and four at 1.8 GHz, all accompanied by the same Adreno 650 GPU and 12 GB of RAM.

The smartphone proves to be capable of running all types of applications without flinching. Its RAM rating of 100, which is the same as that of the Find X3 Neo, is proof of this: it is capable of quickly executing the tasks submitted to it. Gaming is no problem either, with a RAM rating of 110. This translates into a maximum of 62 fps and a minimum of 56 fps, and above all an average of 61.7 fps. In short, stability is the order of the day, and the smartphone has enough power to cope with the games of the moment. Let's give it a slightly better result in the gaming department than the Find X3 Neo.

 

Photo

The Reno 6 Pro is equipped with a quadruple photo module, identical on paper to that of a certain ... Find X3 Neo. There is a main sensor IMX766 of 50 megapixels with its wide-angle optics (f/1.8), an ultra wide-angle module of 16 megapixels (f/2.2), another with a 2x telephoto lens (13 megapixels, f/2.4), and finally a sensor of 2 megapixels with macro optics.

Main module: 50 megapixels, eq. 24 mm, f/1.8
The Reno 6 Pro uses traditional pixel-binning to deliver 12.5 megapixel shots by default. In daylight, its results are very similar to two of the Find X3 Neo, from which it inherits the ability to render numerous details on our test scene. The processing used by Oppo seems to have evolved, and the too cold tint noted in the past has disappeared. The rendering appears more natural and more pleasing to the eye.

At night, the differences of software processing are more visible. Indeed, we note that the digital noise is a little more present, but in return for a better exposed and less desaturated scene. In its price range, the smartphone ranks among the good students.

Main module: 50 megapixel mode
It is still possible to capture the photos in 50 megapixels, which will, however, clutter the memory (not expandable) of the smartphone. During the day, the level of detail is not especially high, but it allows zooming in the shots if necessary. The observation is identical at night. In short, except in case of need of important cropping, it is not recommended to use this 50 megapixel mode.

Ultra wide angle: 16 megapixels, f/2.2
The perilous exercise of the ultra wide angle is not really the strong point of Reno 6 Pro. Like its predecessor, it struggles to reproduce our test scene with all the expected precision and even loses slightly in sharpness. On the other hand, the colorimetry is warmer, as shown by the color dots in the lower left corner of the image. The exposure is difficult to control, as often in this exercise.

The business is spoiled in low light conditions. Smoothness is clearly present, despite a slightly better exposure than on the Find X3 Neo.

Telephoto lens: 13 megapixels, eq. 52 mm, f/2.4
The Reno 6 Pro has the merit of being consistent, regardless of the photo module employed. With its 52mm equivalent focal length, a 2x magnification effect compared to the wide-angle, the smartphone produces warmer color images than the Find X3 Pro. The dull colors of its older sibling are therefore much closer to reality, in daylight at least. However, the contrasts are a little less pronounced and the details slightly smoothed, which makes the whole thing lose a little information.

At night, don't expect miracles. The colors are certainly a little less desaturated than on the Find X3 Neo, but the contrast is less pronounced, which affects the final result.

Front module and video
The Reno 6 Pro is better than the Reno 6, which is limited to Full HD, since it can shoot up to 4K at 60 fps. It is nevertheless in Full HD that it offers the most options, starting with its electronic stabilization system, its bokeh effects or its AI promising to adapt to different types of scenes. We also find the possibility of filming in "dual-view", that is to say, by using the front and rear sensors simultaneously. As for the front photo module used, Oppo uses a 32-megapixel sensor offering selfies of decent quality. However, beware of the portrait mode, which allows you to obtain a nice background blur, but with a sometimes inaccurate clipping.

 

 

Autonomy

Like the Find X3 Neo, the Reno 6 Pro benefits from a comfortable 4500 mAh battery. This one is compatible with the SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charge at 65 W. With the charger provided, it is thus possible to fill up the device in 29 minutes, as was our case. A great performance.

This is enough to compensate for a battery life that we would have liked to have been higher, as the smartphone was content with a score of 13 hours and 48 minutes in our tests simulating real use with Viser. As for the Neo, it exceeded 18 hours of use before switching off, and the Reno 6 is close to 15 hours...

 

Repairability

The Reno 6 Pro has a high repairability rating of 8.5/10. To its credit, spare parts at an acceptable price for the price of the smartphone, easy to disassemble fasteners and a complete documentation. It's a pity, however, that the delivery times for the spare parts needed to repair it are a bit long.

 

 

Durability

Our durability score allows us to determine how sustainable the smartphone is for both the consumer and the environment. It is based on the repairability index, durability criteria (protection index, standard connectors, warranty period and updates...) and an evaluation of CSR policies (Corporate Social Responsibility). You can find all the details of the analysis in our article presenting the sustainability score.

 

Interface & OS

The Oppo Reno 6 Pro Neo runs on Android 11 and version 11.3 of the ColorOS overlay. We appreciate the efforts made by the firm to make it more attractive in recent years. Never intrusive, it provides an experience quite close to stock Android, while offering welcome options.

Like the Oppo Find X3 Pro and Lite, it stands out for its many customization options. It is indeed possible to change the aesthetics of the interface according to your desires. This ranges from the presentation of the Always-On mode to the shape of applications, through the emission of a light on the edges of the screen when receiving a message. The brand wants every customer to feel at home with the device, and you can feel it. It is even possible to choose different types of navigation or to clone a system to, for example, separate professional and personal use. It is therefore an excellent overlay for use.

 

Conclusion

The Reno 6 Pro looks just like the Find X3 Pro, which is its main problem: it struggles to stand out from its predecessor, with an identical launch price, broadly comparable performance and a similar design in almost every respect. Nevertheless, Oppo's latest offers more power than last year's Reno 4 Pro, and has the merit of presenting a nice screen, worthy performances and a satisfactory photo performance. It's a shame, though, that it's not more durable.